Bangalore: Karnataka Assembly polls on May 5, counting on May 8

Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Mar 20: Chief election commissioner of India V S Sampath on Wednesday March 20 announced that the all-important elections to the Karnataka state Assembly will be held on May 5, which is Sunday.

Briefing media persons in New Delhi, he said that the issue of notification to the polls will be on April 10, and the last date for filing of nominations will be April 17. The nominations will be scrutinized on April 18, and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be April 20.

The polling will be held across the state in a single phase on May 5, from 8 am to 5 pm, and the counting will be held on May 8.

The dates have been finalized taking into consideration all aspects like climatic conditions, academic year, availability of security forces etc.

Also the code of conduct will be enforced with immediate effect, he said. There will be as many as 50,446 polling stations across the state.

There are 4.18 crore voters in Karnataka as of now, and the enrollment process will continue until the last date for the nominations.

The term of the present Assembly will end on June 3, 2013. Altogether there are 224 seats, out of which 36 constituencies will be reserved for SC/ST candidates.

Central police force as well as state police will be deployed and tight security and monitoring committees will be in place to ensure smooth flow of the process, he said. The entire process will be videographed. Also, helpline number 1950 will be set up tp report any malpractice, and the election slips will be delivered at the doorsteps of the voters three or four days before the polling, he said.